


Neutral Ground

by missingnowrites



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: (but Ryan's just in it for the Science!), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Flirting, Getting Together, Hero/Villain, Jeremy is Switzerland, Kidnapping, M/M, Mad Science, Mad Scientists, Multi, Possessive Ryan, Rescue, Rescue Attempt, World Domination, superhero Gavin, supervillain Ryan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23777296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missingnowrites/pseuds/missingnowrites
Summary: Jeremy owns a coffee shop that's basically the Switzerland of the superpowered community. His favourite customers are a hero and villain pair that are clearly dating... so when Gavin gets kidnapped, who else is going to rescue him but Ryan?
Relationships: Jeremy Dooley/Gavin Free/Ryan Haywood
Comments: 19
Kudos: 137





	Neutral Ground

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Caliope7](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caliope7/gifts).



> For Caliope! She asked for hero Gavin and villain Ryan meeting in Jeremy's coffeeshop, and for Ryan to try and rescue Gavin from a fellow villain.
> 
> And can I just say, this was hella fun to write? Thank you for the prompt and your support <3

The Neutral Ground café was, as the name suggested, a safe space for any powered individual, no matter their inclination towards good or evil. Rumour had it that the proprietor of the place, one Jeremy Dooley, was a friend of puns and named his coffeeshop after his earthquake powers. Others said he was strong enough to split the ground apart with a kick. Some even considered his interest in wrestling and suggested it was named after his idol, The Rock.

In fact no one was really sure what Jeremy could do. That he was powerful, however, was never in question.

It was a popular location for a variety of of reasons. The coffee was decent and freshly ground, with an assortment of flavoured shots available, and the pastries were creative, to say the least. Some came to spy on their nemesis, others to try and convert them to their side. A lot of anti-heroes just wanted to sit in a quiet corner and brood. All of them enjoyed the neutrality enforced in the café.

There were two regulars, however, who were clearly Jeremy’s favourites.

The first was a hero who called himself Solar Queen, though the media refused to play along and shortened his name to Solar, or sometimes even Solar Man. He was a lanky twenty-something, with tanned skin and sun-bleached hair and the weirdest British accent Jeremy’s ever heard. He had to be a major troll, too, because there was no way words like “schwa” and “guffs” actually existed, no matter how much the hero swore up and down they did.

The other was the Solar Queen’s nemesis, dubbed the “Mad King” by the media. For fairness’ sake, he did keep insisting on calling himself a mad scientist and he was wearing a solid gold crown with a crack running down the front. Every time, he’d tap his foot impatiently while waiting in line for his coffee (triple-espresso shot) and then make a beeline for the table the Solar Queen was sitting at.

Not that Jeremy totally reserved that table for them every Wednesday and Friday, when they usually came in. Nope.

(It did help that that specific table was easy to observe and eavesdrop on from the counter, without giving the appearance of doing so. The staff was greatly entertained by the on-going drama, to the point where the early afternoon shifts on those days were highly coveted. Jeremy blithely ignored the favour trading that was going on amongst his employees and just ‘happened’ to check in during the hour his favourite customers showed up.)

Currently the Mad King was gloating about his most recent ‘victim’, who he was putting through a bunch of tests in his secret lab. Which supposedly the Solar Queen _didn’t_ know the location of, though bets were made on the truthfulness of that statement.

“And there’s nothing you can do about it!” the Mad King exclaimed smugly, throwing up his arms in a victory pose.

“It’s not a proper kidnapping if they agree to come to your lab, innit?” the Solar Queen returned, seeming entirely unconcerned as he ripped apart his banana-mustard filled bear claw. “I mean, informed consent is sorta the backbone of scientific studies.”

“Which is why I’m a _mad_ scientist,” the Mad King pointed out, dropping his arms to pout at the hero. “So I _don’t_ have to care about such petty concerns!”

“Uh huh.” The Solar Queen licked filling off his fingers, pretending not to notice the way the Mad King was staring at him. And definitely didn’t slow down as his tongue swirled around the digits before closing his lips around them. With a sucking _pop_ sound he freed them to point at the Mad King. “Is it still science if you ignore scientific process?”

“What- I- that is-”

The Mad King sputtered, face flushed bright red (in indignation! not blushing!) as he searched for a counterpoint, and the coffee shop employees all hurried off to do their jobs so they weren’t caught staring.

“They’re such a married couple, oh my God,” Lindsay commented under her breath, carrying a tray of fresh pastries past him.

Jeremy choked on his laughter. “They totally are, oh God. What idiots.”

But while he lingered behind the counter, gleefully awaiting what comeback the Mad King would come up with once he recovered, when the shattering of glass distracted him. Looking up, he saw one of his waitresses holding onto a serving tray filled with dirty cups and glasses, shards scattered across the floor around her. That in itself wasn’t too unusual a sight, a certain level of loss in tableware was to be expected from clumsiness or bad timing.

Jeremy narrowed his eyes. This didn’t seem like that kind of situation.

Her hands were shaking, clutching the tray like a lifeline. And in front of her, towering over her with a snarl and raised hand, was one of the city’s major villains. Jeremy knew all of the powered people in the region, whether they were regulars or not. If he recalled correctly, this one had super strength and unbreakable skin. And he was clearly threatening Jeremy’s employee.

Jeremy took all of this in within a glance and already made his way over before the commotion registered for his patrons, conversations dying down as they turned to watch.

“What seems to be the problem?” he interrupted the ranting villain, who seemed to be berating the waitress.

“Are you the manager?” the villain asked, voice tight with anger.

“Something like that, yes,” Jeremy drawled, arching a brow.

“Good, then I don’t have to hunt you down.” The villain smoothed down his uniform, black spandex that looked glued to his every muscle. “I expect to be served immediately.”

“Well, there’s the queue, pal.” Jeremy indicated the line waiting at the coffee counter with a jerk of his chin. The villain’s eyes narrowed.

“No, that won’t do.” He sniffed and straightened to his full height, glaring down his nose at Jeremy. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

“Not anyone worth of note,” a familiar voice drawled from behind Jeremy, and the Mad King stepped up behind his shoulder. He eyed the other villain with undisguised distaste. “And rather dimwitted at that.”

“Can’t even stick to the one rule of this place,” the Solar Queen agreed at his other shoulder. His eyes were glowing a bright yellow-white. “Need some help, luv?” The question was directed at Jeremy, but his gaze didn’t leave the villain.

“Nah.” Jeremy cracked his neck and shrugged his shoulders loose. “I got this.”

He took a step forward, crossing his arms and standing face to chest with the villain, before craning his head up to meet his glare with one of his own.

“This café is neutral. No violence allowed. So either you behave and stand in line-” The villains eyes flickered to the queue, before returning to Jeremy’s with a sneer. “-or you leave.”

“Or else?” the villain asked, sounding amused. He crossed his arms and leaned forward, looming over Jeremy. “What you gonna do about it, shorty?”

“Buddy, pal.” Jeremy shook his head and smirked. “Do _you_ know who _I_ am?” He emphasized his point with two pokes to the villain’s chest. Then he leaned in. “I _own_ this place. You wanna start trouble? You’re going to regret it.”

The villain reared back in shock. “You? You’re the infamous proprietor?” He looked Jeremy up and down, before barking out a laugh. “So what, you got super strength? Big deal.”

“I’ll let you in on a secret, pal,” Jeremy replied conversationally, his smirk growing. And then he lied. “I’ve never had to use my power here yet. You know why? Because everyone knows better than to make me angry.” He paused to let that sink in, before adding, “And you wouldn’t like me if I’m angry.”

“Oh, please do,” the Mad King commented in his usual disdainful drawl. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to see his power in action.”

Jeremy threw the Mad King a deadpan look over his shoulder, while the other villain took a hesitant step backwards, reconsidering his options. Jeremy turned back to him.

“So what’s it gonna be, pal?”

The villain held up his hands in surrender, slowly backing away from him before turning on his heel and storming out, cape nearly getting caught in the door as it slammed shut from the force of his swing. The café roared in laughter, employees and patrons both giving him a round of applause. Jeremy sketched a quick brow before clapping to get his staff’s attention.

“Back to work, everyone!”

With that, the commotion handled, Jeremy turned around to do the same, only to nearly stumble into the Mad King and the Solar Queen, still flanking him. Backing him up.

“Shame.” The Mad King cocked his head and crossed his arms. “I was really looking forward to that demonstration.”

Jeremy snorted and shrugged, leading the totally-not-dating villain and hero back to their table. He had to bite his tongue not to make a sarcastic comment. Because he _had_ used his power, but saying so might give the game away. And for his power to work, subtlety was key.

“Can I get you two anything else?” he asked, before winking at the Solar Queen. “I’ve got a new speciality coffee. A particularly _neutral ground_ , if you will.”

The Mad King groaned, hiding his face in his hands, while the Solar Queen burst into giggles.

“Jeremy, no! Jeremy, that was awful!” he cackled, clearly delighted.

Jeremy smirked and winked at them, before taking their orders and moving on. They were his favourite customers for a reason, and not just because their laughter sent butterflies fluttering in his stomach. Nope.

* * *

Being a hero was hard work, but usually worth it. Gavin liked helping people, liked making them smile. It felt good. Validating. And it came with other perks occasionally. Rescuing kittens from trees led to kittens he could pet! Or like being kidnapped by his nemesis, that was always fun. But it also came with certain downsides, like being kidnapped by people who _weren’t_ his nemesis.

Case in point.

Gavin pulled at the cables strapping him to the machine and grimaced. Ropes he could have burned through with his powers, and zipties were surprisingly easy to break if you could get the right leverage. But Ryan had figured out how to tie him up just so that he could only escape when it suited him. Seeing and feeling the steel cables made Gavin’s heart stutter for a beat or two, and if he was honest with himself it wasn’t fear.

No, it was anticipation.

He liked arguing with Ryan, riling the villain up until he sputtered and blushed. It was cute.

However, his heart sank as he looked around. He knew exactly how Ryan’s labs looked like, and this wasn’t one of them. Sure, he could’ve build a new, secret one since their last encounter, but it just didn’t _feel_ like a Mad King lair. No flair, no panache, and no adherence to proper lab protocol, going by the hench people running about. Ryan wouldn’t stand for such obvious breach of safety measures. They weren’t even wearing goggles!

The villain looming over him with an evil grin was another hint.

Doctor Ghoulish was a minor annoyance at best, a Frankenstein wannabe past his prime. Not that he ever got very far with his schemes, to the point where Gavin’s only heard of him from… unconventional sources. Namely Ryan complaining about his incompetent competition. For a mad scientist, Ryan had very strong opinions on how science was to be done. Right now, however, Gavin was properly annoyed at the villain.

And no, that wasn’t because he was sulking.

Even if he’d prefered to have been kidnapped by Ryan, in all honesty.

"Awake at last, Mr. Solar?" the villain murmured in his smarmy voice, fitting his smarmy face. Smarmy bastard.

"It's Solar _Queen_. It's not that hard to get right," Gavin corrected him, frowning. Then he sighed, resigning himself to bad theatrics. At least Ryan got creative with his drama, but Gavin figured he shouldn't expect much from someone who didn't even make the C-list. "What do you want?"

"Ah, what a loaded question. I have knowledge, I have power, and soon I'll have fame! What is left to want?"

"Uh, a lot?" Gavin snarked, wiggling his hands. If he could grab the cables, he might be able to heat them up. He doubted they were as high quality as he was used to. Now, if only he knew what the strange contraption he was tied to was used for...

"Indeed. And I will have it all!" The villain stepped back from Gavin, pacing in front of a different machine full of blinking lights, levers and a big, red button. On top of it sat a small satellite dish, like a weird sort of hat. “Today, we start with Austin, tomorrow, the world!”

World domination. Great. How original.

Gavin tried not to compare villains to Ryan too often, but he couldn’t help it. And Dr. Ghoulish fell short of even his lowered expectations. Gavin figured he could buy himself some time for his escape attempt by getting the villain to monologue. It’d probably be the same boring crap as always, but most villains fell for it. Even Ryan did occasionally, loathe as Gavin was to admit it. Something about being a mad scientist made him inclined to explain his plans. But that was part of the game! Ryan would leave him just enough hints to puzzle through the situation until he found a solution.

Now, however, they were playing for keeps. And the more information he had, the better. So with a sigh, Gavin asked in as reasonable a tone as he could manage, “And how are you going to do that?”

“Simple!” the villain boasted, patting his machine. At a second look, Gavin could see it was connected to the machine he was tied to with heavy duty electric cables. “This baby can fire a laser so strong it would blow up the moon! And if they won’t surrender, I will! But no, a demonstration is needed first. I have commandeered a satellite in orbit, and when I fire this laser, it will be mirrored back, pulverizing the city! And then they will see, they will kneel, they will worship me like I deserve!”

Dr. Ghoulish threw back his head and laughed, before coming to circle around Gavin’s gurney, eyes wide and shining with madness. He reached out, lifting Gavin’s chin with a finger, before caressing his cheek. Gavin’s nose scrunched up in distaste at the unwanted touch.

“All I need… is a little… _juice_.”

Realization hit, and Gavin paled, fervently glad he hadn’t tried burning through the cables yet.

“I won’t help you, Dr. Ghoulish! I will not use my power to destroy!”

The villain scowled. “Yes, you will! I need you to power the battery.”

“Which I won’t,” Gavin returned, arching a brow.

“Yes, you will!”  
  


“No, I won’t.”

“You…! You…!” Dr. Ghoulish gaped at him, and Gavin felt a twinge of incredulity. How did someone with such half-baked plans ever manage to kidnap him in the first place!?

“It seems like we’re at an impasse,” Gavin said, testing his bonds again. Not being able to use his powers to escape limited his options. He winced. The cables were biting into his wrists with how much he was moving them. “So how about this? You let me go and we forget about this whole thing.”

“No!” Dr. Ghoulish growled, starting to pace. “Do you think me stupid? You will just tell your friends, and I’ll still be down a power source. No, you will power my machine for me, whether you want to or not! Henchmen!” He turned to the assembled crew of hired hands. “Go! Find Solar’s weakness! I’m sure he has a cat or something he rescued like the goody-two-shoes he is. Bring it he-!”

He was interrupted when the doors to the lab slammed open with a loud _bang!_

"Not so fast, Dr. Ghoulish!"

The silhouette of a crowned man stood in the door framed by a strong light behind him, cape billowing dramatically despite the lack of wind inside the building. Footsteps echoed through the suddenly silent lab, with the sound of glass crushed under boots. The hench people gaped at the supervillain as he brushed past them, not paying them any mind, intent on his quarry.

“Mad King!” Dr. Ghoulish snarled, lip curling in anger. “What do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy!”

"I heard you captured my nemesis," Ryan said, inclining his head in Gavin's direction before clasping his hands behind his back as he came to a stop. "I find that… unacceptable."

“You can have him after I’m done with him.” Dr. Ghoulish waved him off dismissively. “It’s not like I’ll have further use of him.”

“Well, my good fellow, as lovely as that seems… that just won’t do. You see-” Ryan’s voice dropped to a growl. “-he’s _mine_.”

“And I kidnapped him, so it’s my turn to do whatever to him!” Dr. Ghoulish snapped irritably. “Just because you keep losing him during his escape attempts-”

“I do _not_ appreciate someone of… your calibre-” Ryan gave him a derisive once-over. “-stepping in and ruining my plans. You _will_ hand him over to me.”

"And if I don’t? What are you going to do about it?" Dr. Ghoulish sneered, expression a petulant grimace. "Talk me to death?"

The goons laughed when Dr. Ghoulish signalled them to, and Gavin rolled his eyes. Ryan, however, just smirked.

"Simple," he drawled, raising his chin and staring Dr. Ghoulish down, "I cut your funding."

The laughter died abruptly.

"You… you what?" Dr. Ghoulish asked, aghast.

"I talked to the Corpirate. Did you know, he owed me a favour?" Ryan spread his hands in a 'what can you do' gesture, obviously enjoying himself. He turned to address the hired help directly. "That means no salaries for you, by the way. Just so you're aware."

The hench people exchanged long looks, before dropping their weapons and tools to back away with hands raised.

"No you fools! Stay!" Dr. Ghoulish whirled around to point at them. "Or face the consequences of my wrath!"

"Rather yours than the Mad King's!" one of them quipped, not stopping in their retreat. There was a titter of laughter, and Dr. Ghoulish turned bright red. Only the four goons flanking him remained.

“Surrender, Dr. Ghoulish, and I shall consider mercy when it comes to punishment for your… transgressions.” Ryan turned his back on the other villain, stepping up to the battery, gaze flickering over Gavin, checking him for injuries. Gavin gave him a reassuring smile. “You have lost. Give in gracefully now, and-”

“Ryan!” Gavin cried out in warning, eyes widening. He’d been too busy enjoying the show Ryan was putting on, he hadn’t noticed the henchman sneaking up on Ryan.

Ryan turned only to get a faceful of metal wrench and crumbled to the floor. Gavin strained against the cables, knowing it was useless but fear urging him on. A burst of his power, a small beam of solar energy hit the wrench and tossed it across the lab, where it clattered into a corner. At the same time, the battery lit up, and Gavin felt it suck up more of his energy than such a small beam warranted.

Dr. Ghoulish clapped in delight.

“Well, well,” he mused, smirk distorting his face. “Seems like I have found your weakness.” He kicked Ryan in the side, and Gavin snarled, throwing himself forward and straining against the cables. Dr. Ghoulish chuckled. “Who would have thought?”

“Leave him alone, you smegpot!”

Dr. Ghoulish, however, just continued to cackle, ordering his remaining goons to tie his fellow villain up. He was eyeing Ryan speculatively, before turning to Gavin with a shit-eating grin.

“I will give you some time to consider my proposition,” he said in a formal tone at odds with his behaviour. “And if you refuse… well…” His grin grew. “I can’t guarantee that _Ryan_ here will be quite the same man you knew.”

With that, he turned and left, taking his goons with him. His laughter echoed through the lab long after he walked out the door. Gavin waited a moment longer, just to be sure, before craning his head to check on his nemesis. Ryan hung slumped forwards in ropes that tied him to the machine Gavin was supposed to power, his face turning an ugly red on one side. Gavin hiss in sympathetic pain. That would be one hell of a bruise.

"Well, there goes that plan," Ryan murmured, groaning as he lifted his head to meet Gavin’s gaze. "Should have seen that coming."

"Well, yeah. It's obvious, innit." Gavin drawled, sacking back in relief. "Ryan, you knew it would backfire, Ryan, right?"

"...no."

"...that's just dumb, Ryan." Gavin huffed a sigh. “You trod all over his sense of grandeur, Ryan. Showed him up in front of his hirelings, made him a laughing stock. Of course he lashed out.”

Ryan winced, face scrunched up in pain, before _thunking_ his head against the metal side of the machine.

“I suppose I didn’t think this through,” he allowed. Gavin grimaced.

“You’re not the only one there, sorry,” he admitted, avoiding Ryan’s gaze when the other looked over. “We have a problem.”

“How to get out of here?” he suggested.

“I can’t use my powers without the battery sucking me dry, yeah,” Gavin conceded. He glanced up at Ryan from under his lashes. “Two problems, then.”

Ryan let out a long-suffering sigh, closing his eyes. “What else?”

“I, uh.” Gavin cringed. “I may have let slip your name to Ghoulish.”

Silence reigned as the tension grew between them, Ryan refusing to open his eyes while Gavin bit his lip, cursing himself for his mistake. He was usually better at watching his tongue with others around.

“I suppose we’ll have to deal with that eventually,” Ryan muttered, shaking his head. “First things first. We need to get out. What’s his plan?”

Gavin told him. Ryan nodded slowly, craning his neck to get a better glimpse of the machine’s display.

“I wonder if I can sabotage it…” Ryan tugged at the ropes wrapped around his torso and arms. Gavin could see even from several feet away they were digging into his flesh. Ryan grimaced. “Could you burn through these? Just enough that I can shake off the rest.”

“A concentrated beam shouldn’t take too much energy, but…” Gavin bit his lip. “I’m worried about how much the battery will suck up, though.”

He didn’t mention the stab of pain he’d felt the first time because he knew if he did, Ryan would rather break his own arm or dislocate his shoulder or something equally stupid to spare Gavin. Taking a deep breath, Gavin focussed on that inner pool of heat. Once he felt he had a firm grasp on his power, he tugged it forward hard and fast, rather than letting it swell up as usual.

It burst forth from his eyes, the easiest way to direct them with his hands tied up. Smoke rose from the ropes, and then the pain slammed into the back of his head.

With a cry, Gavin closed his eyes and struggled to push his power back down, trying to cut the connection the battery had established, leeching energy from him. His back arched off the gurney, as little as he could move, his head colliding with the metal slab. Stars glittered in front of his closed eyelids, and Gavin grit his teeth. He felt exhausted.

There was no chance he could do that a second time.

Gavin could hear Ryan curse and mutter under his breath, shifting and fidgeting, trying to shake the rope loose or whatever it took to escape his restraints. He could only hope he’d managed to burn enough. He barely had his breathing back under control, not yet daring to open his eyes, when he heard the doors slide back open, followed by footsteps.

And just like that, they were out of time.

Dr. Ghoulish was boasting about his plans, repeating pretty much what he told Gavin earlier, but with more fervour and mechanical details. Gavin wondered what the point was, until Ryan exhaled sharply in surprise. Gavin’s eyes popped open and he craned his neck to see Dr. Ghoulish was parading around his lab, followed by his four goons. But what shocked Ryan was immediately apparent to Gavin: Jeremy.

Jeremy was walking side by side with Dr. Ghoulish, nodding along.

“-and with Solar’s power, I will have unlimited energy! See, already he has filled my battery with enough juice to take down entire cities, just with his fruitless struggles!” Dr. Ghoulish exclaimed as they stopped in front of the gurney. Jeremy hummed thoughtfully.

“I see.” Then he turned to Dr. Ghoulish. “Might I suggest untying Solar Queen for a moment though, so he may regain his energy? After all, your laser is of no use if you suck him dry prematurely.”

Dr. Ghoulish stroked his chin and nodded. “Yes, yes, I can see the wisdom in that. Henchmen! Untie Solar for now.”

Gavin let himself slump onto the gurney, slowly sliding to the floor as thoughts raced through his brain. Whatever Jeremy was doing here, he had just, intentionally or inadvertently, given Gavin a way out. He opened his eyes half-mast to give a more tired impression, and met Ryan’s gaze across the lab. Several of the ropes were sagging weirdly, some ends stuffed under Ryan’s arm to hide their damage.

Ryan’s eyes checked him over, before flickering back to Jeremy, a calculating glint to them.

“And I see you captured the Mad King, too!” Jeremy said, managing to sound both impressed and bored. “Though I doubt he’s useful to your plans.”

“No, not at all,” Dr. Ghoulish agreed absent-mindedly, fiddling with the knobs and levers on the secondary machine. “I did learn his name is Ryan, however, so that might be of some use.”

“Ryan?” Jeremy repeated, brows arched. He exchanged a quicksilver look with Ryan, before turning back to Dr. Ghoulish. “Nah, that can’t be.”

Confusion furrowed Dr. Ghoulish’s brows. “I could swear Solar called him that, though…”

“Of course he did.” Jeremy nodded with a wise air to him. “And clearly the Mad King must have convinced his nemesis that it’s his true name, but why would he share it with a _hero_ of all things?”

“Yes, yes, quite right.” Dr. Ghoulish mirrored Jeremy’s nodding until Jeremy stopped. Then he blinked. “Now, how about a demonstration?”

“That’s why we’re here,” Jeremy agreed, then gestured to the goons. “Perhaps send them outside to stand watch? Just in case.”

“Yes, yes.” Dr. Ghoulish cleared his throat. “You heard the man! No one is allowed in until the laser fired!”

Once the goons left the lab, Dr. Ghoulish turned to his machine. Gavin surged to his feet, fists glowing like miniature suns. At the same time, Ryan strained against his restraints, the remaining ropes snapping. But before either of them could spring into action, Dr. Ghoulish crumbled to the floor with one well-placed karate chop from Jeremy.

Gavin and Ryan stared at Jeremy who brushed off his hands.

“Well, that’s that.” He turned to the hero and villain duo. “You two okay?”

“I… yeah. Jeremy?”

“Mhm?” Jeremy bent down to grab Ryan’s discarded ropes, making a quick job of tying Dr. Ghoulish up.

“What… How did you know we were in trouble?” Gavin asked.

“He-” Jeremy pointed at Ryan. “-ran out of the ‘shop like a bat out of hell. After he received a phone call while waiting for you-” Jeremy pointed at Gavin. “-for like half an hour at your usual table. Obviously something was wrong.”

“How did you do that?” Ryan demanded to know, pointing in turn at the other villain. “Convince him so fast. You barely said a thing!”

“Well…” Jeremy straightened up and smirked. “You wanted a demonstration of my power, didn’t you, _Ryan_? You’re welcome.”

He brushed a kiss to Ryan’s cheek, who sputtered. “I… you… what?”

“That’s where my power _lies_ ,” Jeremy said, deadpan, and Gavin, having caught on by now, started to giggle.

“Jeremy, my hero!” He laughed, bounding over to the coffee shop owner and kissing his cheek in turn. “Jeremy, that was awesome, Jeremy!” Then he turned to Ryan with a wicked grin, stage-whispering, “Ryan, we should thank him properly, Ryan.”

“Should we,” Ryan returned, eyeing Jeremy up and down. Jeremy flushed. “Why, my darling Solar Queen, I think we shall.” He glanced around the lab, then walked over to the battery and pulled the plug. It stopped humming instantly, energy sputtering out. “But not here.”

With that, they each threw an arm over a flustered Jeremy’s shoulder, leading him out the backdoor.

It would take the goons a while to figure out something went wrong, Gavin figured. They didn’t seem the brightest of the bunch.


End file.
